Feb 20, 2013 7:05 AM

I have always been a semi-athletic person but never a big runner. Play softball at work (not very strenuous) and lifted on and off for the last 8 years (26yo). Recently, I decided to start running with a friend. She runs a few halves and one full marathon a year. On a whim I bought a pair of Brooks one day. I did NOT get fitted for them. I saw the Couch to 5k thing and thought I would start there. 2 weeks into it I started to have some pain. It was not shin splints but a tightness just above the outside of my legs, above the ankle. It was almost disabling. I could barely walk if I continued for too long on it. I took a few weeks off. I was only completing about 2 miles a day. I go up to visit my friend who happened to have a long run on that Saturday. I was bored so I decided to run as well. I managed about 4 miles and I was really hurting at the end. Same thing. I decided that I would wait on the running thing and go to a specialty shop she goes to (Run-in) to get fitted. According to them, I overpronate. So they make me try on a few shoes and they tell me which pair I should get. WOW, huge difference. The same day I bought them I managed 8 miles total. I was a bit sore the next day but nothing abnormal to a workout. That was 4 days ago. I start my normal routine back today, shooting for 3 miles. I get about half way through one and that same pain, only on the left side, is back again. I do not understand. I am wearing the same shoes that were so much better. The only thing different is, I walked about 1.5-2 miles in the "other shoes" a few days before because they are much more casual and even noticed a tiny bit of discomfort then. Are those shoes that bad? Should I just rest a few more days and stay the hell away from those shoes?

TL;DR: I wore shoes that were a poor fit for my stride type, just for walking for a few miles, can that still cause discomfort a few days later in the right pair of shoes after a half mile?

Thanks for this. I am starting to run, just on a treadmill, and I have I think maybe the same issue. After running for only about 5-10 minutes on the treadmill the muscles close to my ankle get extremely tight and sore, expecially on the front of my leg right above my ankle. They get so tight that I end up running almost flat footed because I can't bend my ankle anymore.

After the run I have to spend some serious time slowly, and painfully, stretching out by bending my foot to the extremes down and up.

Does this sound like the same issue you had?

I thought maybe it might have something to do with the way I run or the fact that I am a bit overweight, but never considered it was my shoes. I never got any special shoes for running, so maybe I should try to find a place that can fit me like you say.

For me its on the outside of my leg, right above the ankle and its mainly my left although the right has hurt before. What blows my mind is that during and after 8 miles. . .it was fine. I rest for 4 days and start again last night and it kills me to do half a mile.

Well, walking isn't running and doesn't stress the legs quite the same way. Still, it's possible the walk may have had an effect. One thing to check is your stride and footplant. Make sure you're not overstriding - reaching out with your foot and planting it well in front of your body. You should be planting under your hips and your knee should be flexed. Shorten your stride as needed. Here's a good video that illustrates these points (as well as some others that may or may not be of interest). Yes, he's running barefoot, but the principles apply to running with shoes as well.

I too recently decided to get back into running. I did go get fitted for shoes and was doing a Couch to 5K training schedule. I guess I didn't really heed the rest days though. I thought I was doing good by just continuously training...WRONG. I started having pain in my hips but just "powered through" Worst decision ever. I have ended up with severe hip flexor tendonitis and now can hardly walk! My only advice is listen to your body and REST. You don't hurt for no reason. And if you don't you will end up not being able to train at all and it will drive you crazy. Trust me, I am speaking from experience. Good luck!

First - 8 miles is a long run. Especially for a new runner with no base. It is highly likely that you stressed something out that manifested itself after the run. Lots of tendons and muscles to tighten up after that kind of activity. My guess is you did no stretching, rolling or other activity to help recover. While it's possible it’s the shoes, much more likely that it’s your mechanics and fitness.

Here is my non expert story of what I learned on my 3+ year journey into becoming a late life runner.

1) My first year I suffered from about 5 different running ailments from IT Band syndrome, to patella tendonitis, to a swollen bursa, to lower back pain. I'm naturally competitive so when I decided to start running I "went for it". What I didn't realize is that I needed to SLOW DOWN to start going faster. Becoming a runner is a journey not a sprint.

2) It wasn’t the shoes. I tried all sorts of shoes, inserts, saw an orthopedist. It must be something wrong with me biomechanically that the shoe would fix and the pain would stop. NOPE. Eventually I went to a running specialist who videotaped me on a treadmill and showed me my form. It was a disaster. It wasn’t my shoes. It was me. I’m an overpronator with a high arch and I now run in a minimalist shoe with great comfort. I ended up being lucky enough to attend a Chi Running seminar. It transformed my running style. I’m not saying it’s for everyone but the basic principles really helped me. I had an overly long stride and slow turnover with heal striking. BONK.

3) Fitness. I was a little overweight but always a "fit" guy. General fitness had little to do with what was causing my aches and pains. As I started adding mileage it was my small muscles that were totally out of sync. The small balance and strength muscles in your ankles, your hip flexors, some off the smaller muscles in your butt, your core. All of these little things not being in tune force your big muscles to overcompensate and almost always this lead to stress and injury.

So I slowed down, spent time doing some very basic core and lower body exercises with bands. Didn’t need to join a gym to do any of this. I worked that into my plan along with some dynamic stretching. Then I put a race on the calendar 4 months out combined with a very simple training plan and stuck to it like clockwork. (or as much as my job allowed). By the end of my second year running, things were really coming much easier and there was very little in the form of problems and I completed my first half marathon. After that I set another big goal and a year later did my first marathon in less than 4 hours. Pain free and feeling great.

I'm in the exact same boat. I started training for my first half beginning last Oct/Nov for a half marthaon that is scheduled for Mar. 17th and the training was going well until about 3 weeks ago. I've been steadily increasing miles running about 20 miles a week and purchased a new pair of shoes about 4 weeks ago in hopes of breaking them in to avoid discomfort for the half marathon. I now have significant pain on my inside left ankle which I believe maybe a combination of the new shoes and pronating inward a bit on my left foot. I've mostly been training on a treadmill this winter and my right foot feels great but my left feels like I'm over my arch too much. The painful area is maybe 2" along my shin but doesn't feel like a shin splint. It feels more like I got hit with a baseball but it's not bruised. I'd put it at a 2 on a scale of 1 to 10.

My training schedule's been thrown off by this. I did a 6 mile run two weekends ago and had to rest up the full week afterwards. I tried to get a 9 mile run in last weekend but only made it about 3 miles before deciding not to risk injury. I'm heading back to the running store where I got the shoes tomorrow morning to see what they have to say. I also purchased a cheapo Dr. Scholls arch support but that hasn't solved the problem. At this point, until I'm mended, I don't see how the half on the 17th is going to come about but hope to mend and get back into it for another half marathon soon. I'll let you know what I find out.

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